Car battery dead, car locked. How do you get in??

[Namuna]

I went out to my car this evening and the car is completely dead, not even the red security LED. I contacted KIA roadside assistance and they scheduled for my Stinger to be towed tomorrow morning to the dealership since the car is locked and I can't get in.

So my question is; If the car is locked, the only means of entry is the keyless entry fob, and the car battery dies (it's not the fob, I tried my backup fob as well)... How do you get in to open the hood or trunk??

 

[Wilzer]

Release your key from the fob and then insert into the small rectangular hole in the plastic cap at the back of the driver's side door handle and pop the cap off, with a little upward and outward motion. Then use key in the keyhole you will find under the cap to open the door. Then you can pop the hood and on right back see a red + and under that is a positive terminal to jump.

 

[Joseph Spiegel]

Pull the physical key out of the fob, little button near bottom releases the key. The right side of the drivers door handle is a plastic cap. With the key, from the underside you can gently pry off the cap, carefully! That exposes the key hole.

ETA
What Wilzer said. For the trunk, I think you have to climb into the hatch via the back seat with the seats folded down. The glowing emergency release should pop the hatch but I’m not sure on that.

Also, not the Stinger but the same procedure. We all need to practice this, no?

 

[Namuna]

Thank you for the replies, I see the key from the fob now (would've been ice if the salesguy pointed that out when I bought it, it's not automatic knowledge, but oh well).

I can't seem to pop the cap off though, I tried using a small pry tool but it's starting to leave marks.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Ha! I never knew there was an actual physical key there!! Jeeez, you'd think that would've been part of the 30min presentation the salesguy gave me of how everything works when I bought it.

My sales guy supplied that detail, along with the connections for the jumper cables up front. Trouble is, like Joseph, I can't remember how to open the hatch to access the battery either. I guess crawling in over lowered rear seats would work. Can't think why it shouldn't.

 

[Duce_13]

Thank you for the replies, I see the key from the fob now (would've been ice if the salesguy pointed that out when I bought it, it's not automatic knowledge, but oh well).

I can't seem to pop the cap off though, I tried using a small pry tool but it's starting to leave marks.

It should come off pretty easy when you insert the key into the slot under the slot. You should not need a pry bar.

 

[Namuna]

OMG thank you for that video Joseph!!! I was actually trying to pry the unlock button on the door handle, not the piece on the right of it!

Now I'm wondering if I should call the roadside assist back and ask them to just change it to a roadside jumpstart instead...But I'm worried as to why the battery died (all the doors are properly closed, I know I didn't leave any interior lights on either), and if I should still have it towed to the dealership to have it inspected?

 

[MerlintheMad]

A dead battery is simply a bad/dead battery. A brand new one in my Mom's Elantra didn't last two months. Three times in less than two weeks it died in just a couple of days of sitting in her garage. It was a defective battery. The replacement worked perfectly.

How "old" is your new car? I don't remember if you got a MY18 or not. If so, it could have been sitting on the lot for months. Once these batteries go flat for any reason, I think they are pretty much toast; there's no bringing them back. But while they work, they really work well; they are a race spec/tech; Kia did not cheap out on the Stinger's battery. (blanking on the name for the type of battery, dang...)

 

[Duce_13]

OMG thank you for that video Joseph!!! I was actually trying to pry the unlock button on the door handle, not the piece on the right of it!

Now I'm wondering if I should call the roadside assist back and ask them to just change it to a roadside jumpstart instead...But I'm worried as to why the battery died (all the doors are properly closed, I know I didn't leave any interior lights on either), and if I should still have it towed to the dealership to have it inspected?

Unless you had it sit for a month i would have Kia look at it no reason for the battery to be just dead

 

[Namuna]

A dead battery is simply a bad/dead battery. A brand new one in my Mom's Elantra didn't last two months. Three times in less than two weeks it died in just a couple of days of sitting in her garage. It was a defective battery. The replacement worked perfectly.

How "old" is your new car? I don't remember if you got a MY18 or not. If so, it could have been sitting on the lot for months. Once these batteries go flat for any reason, I think they are pretty much toast; there's no bringing them back. But while they work, they really work well; they are a race spec/tech; Kia did not cheap out on the Stinger's battery. (blanking on the name for the type of battery, dang...)

I've got the 2018 GT AWD. Considering that (once a battery goes dead, it's no longer reliable), it seems I should have it towed and checked for sure then. And only just last week it was in for that recent recall. sheesh.

 

[AV8R]

Get the battery checked. If a cell has had it you need a new battery. They will do a load check. There should be a tiny light on your key fob that illuminates when you press it to see if the fob has gone flat. You have to remove the key from the fob to change the battery tho, a dealer can do it of youre not sure.

 

[Namuna]

Tow guy just left, we were able to jump the car no problem... But nothing was left on in the cabin, so I'm concerned as to why it died. The tow guy suggested it might've just been the combination of extreme cold we've been having plus having sat for several days (3).

As suggested I'm going to bring it in for the battery tests (need to go back anyway for some other fix).

Thanks for all the help folks!

 

[nhcowboy28]

OEM batteries are hit or miss.

Get a replacement under warranty. You’ll be fine.

Extreme heat/cold kills batteries. Especially cars that sat on the lot

 

[Joseph Spiegel]

OMG thank you for that video Joseph!!! I was actually trying to pry the unlock button on the door handle, not the piece on the right of it!

Now I'm wondering if I should call the roadside assist back and ask them to just change it to a roadside jumpstart instead...But I'm worried as to why the battery died (all the doors are properly closed, I know I didn't leave any interior lights on either), and if I should still have it towed to the dealership to have it inspected?

You’re welcome. I think the dealers should add this emergency entry procedure into the filal checkout procedure. It’s an important piece of knowledge and kinda hidden. Glad it all worked out. Get it checked quickly or it could happen again quickly.

 

[SteveCo]

My battery went flat once, several months back. I can't say for certain, but in trying to think of possible causes I may have left the car in the garage with the accessory mode switched 'on', after fooling around with option configuration.

I charged the AGM battery back up to full capacity (slowly, using a CTEK low amperage intelligent charger) which took probably 14-16 hours. Due to the depth of discharge, I disconnected the battery from the car and charged it directly on the battery terminals.

After it reached full charge, everything worked normally except it had conked out my adaptive suspension. It rode rock hard like the suspension was welded, and showed an electronic suspension error on the dashboard. A quick trip to the dealer, and they reset the computer using a tablet while I waited - probably 5 minutes total. After that, the error cleared, the suspension error was gone, and I haven't had any battery or system issues since.

As to the door locks, fortunately my car wasn't locked - though I already knew about the manual key trick as the salesman had gone over that during 'orientation'. I did have to fold the back seat down and pop the hatch manually from the inside to access the battery.

 

[M'Kehyah]

For next time...

Use the lugs under the hood to connect to good battery. This will be more than enough to now allow you to pop the hatch (saves you from crawling through). Now use the jumper cables directly on the battery for best performance.

 

[SteveCo]

For next time...

Use the lugs under the hood to connect to good battery. This will be more than enough to now allow you to pop the hatch (saves you from crawling through). Now use the jumper cables directly on the battery for best performance.

I wouldn't do that with the battery completely discharged, as you risk damage to the car's electronics. Safer to pop the hatch from the inside, then disconnect and charge the battery directly.

It's pretty simple to reach through the rear compartment to pop that hatch - no extreme contortions required.

 

[Wilzer]

Got a picture or video on where the inside hatch release is?

 

[M'Kehyah]

I wouldn't do that with the battery completely discharged, as you risk damage to the car's electronics. Safer to pop the hatch from the inside, then disconnect and charge the battery directly.

It's pretty simple to reach through the rear compartment to pop that hatch - no extreme contortions required.

Good point!
Yes, best to remove and slow charge (if possible).
But if you are not able to easily remove and charge overnight...

 

[SteveCo]

Got a picture or video on where the inside hatch release is?

It's described in the manual. For the Canadian manual it's in section 4 'Features of your vehicle'.